Ad Astra

Ad Astra 2019

• Director: Gray, James
• Also seen by this director: Two Lovers
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Brad Pitt – Once upon a Time in Hollywood, World War Z, The Tree of Life, Inglourious Basterds, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Burn After Reading, Babel, Troy, confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Friends, The Fight Club, Being John Malkovich, Meet Joe Black, Twelve Monkeys, Seven, True Romance, Thelma and Louise
• Tommy Lee Jones – No Country for Old Men, A Prairie Home Companion, Men in Black, Volcano, The Client, The Fugitive, JFK
• Ruth Negga – World War Z and soon to be seen in season 2 of Misfits (we’re now watching season 1)
• Donald Sutherland – The Hunger Games 1-4, The Eagle, The Pillars of the Earth, Cold Mountain, A Dry White Season, Klute, Johnny Got His Gun, M*A*S*H
• Why? Sci fi. Brad Pitt
• Seen: 12 June 2020      

       Roy (Pitt) is an astronaut and feels most comfortable alone in space. When he survives a disaster in space, he is sent on a mission to find his father (Jones) who had led a mission to Neptune before disappearing years before. It is now believed that he is alive, that he caused the disaster and that he is a threat to the entire solar system.

       There is no shortage of drama, suspense, mystery, introspective monologues, familial emotions, sci-fi excitement. It sometimes has the feel of 2001 A Space Odyssey, which I haven’t seen for a very long time but which I remember as being a bit boring the last time I saw it (and absolutely astounding the first time). This, in contrast, is interesting and gripping. Brad Pitt is good in this serious role.

3 ½ * of 5 (Hal says 2 ½ * - he wasn’t convinced.)